My First Triathlon: Uh Oh!

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I think it's important to start off with the sports that I have actively participated in since childhood (track & field and volleyball being the ones that I still compete in): basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, and gymnstics.  None of these sports involve fantastic long endurance or at least none of the positions I played in these sports did.  I am a sprinter, and that's all there is to it.  In high school, my fellow teammates would joke about how funny it would be to throw me in some distance race to watch me get my butt kicked.  They also thought it was funny that I received a D1 scholarship for doing multi-events (pentathlon indoor, heptathlon outdoor) because how was I going to last for an 800m run?!

Then came winter break my senior year of high school, sitting around just watching TV, and I flip to a channel and the Ironman is on.  I am invigorated through watching the athletes compete and endure this long grueling race.  My mom is completely horrified by what she is seeing on the TV but my first though?  I HAVE TO DO THIS!  Obviously, an important aspect of a triathlon I soon learned is to start off small, something that is manegeable for a first-timer.  I start looking for triathlons near my home in northeast Ohio and nothing was really catching my eye that was feasible for me to complete (I mean, hello! Did I mention I don't have great endurance for long races?!). 

In talking with my uncle in Texas, where I go every summer for a few weeks for the past seven years, he also sounded interested in doing a triathlon, so it ended up that we signed up for a triathlon together in Austin, Texas called the Couple's Triathlon.  What could be better than having a partner to push me?  All of this happened in January--the outdoor track and field season hadn't even begun yet, so I couldn't exactly start training for the triathlon for a few reasons: 1. I'm a sprinter and training long distance for a short sprinter is NOT a good idea. 2. There are no pools close to my home at all where I could train for the swimming part.  Plus, I haven't swam for years.  I usually go in to cool off, and I'm not so sure how well I would be able to swim other than doggy style! 3. The only bike I have is from childhood and let's just say it's a bit too small!  First things first: I had to finish the track season, which didn't end until June 7th, before I could truly devote myself to traithlon training.  This left me with a mere month before the triathlon, which was on July 14th, 2009. 

The above is near the end of track season my senior year( I am on the left).  The triathlon wasn't on my mind yet, only sprinting and long jumping was!  One time, in gym class-no kidding, I ran the mile because we had to, and I ran it in 7:00.  That is honestly the furthest I had ever run without a break.  Obviously, I was terrified once track season ended, and I knew that my triathlon was coming up sooon-no turning back now!

After track season, I went up to the track to run distance-2 miles each time.  The first time it took my 17:03 to run 2 miles and the second time it took me 16:14--pretty embarrassing after my state qualifying sprinting and long jumping.  I was started to question whether I would be able to finish this triathlon--especially because the swimming was first, and that I knew was my weakest point, even weaker than distance running!

I FINALLY started being able to train for the swimming aspect of the race 2 weeks before the triathlon.  Now, this might have been okay if I was a weathered triathlete who competed often but no, I had never done a triathlon, and the race was only a couple weeks away!  My family came back from Texas So my uncle I was doing the triathlon with was in Ohio), and we ended up going to my family's condo up in Lake Erie for a weekend.  This was the first time that I got in the water and actually tried to swim.  Epic fail!  I could swim only a short distance before being grossed out by the water and tired.  Later that same week, I left for Texas, and this was when the real (real short!) training began.

My uncle took me to their community pool every single day before the triathlon.  The first time, I could swim one lap before being dead tired.  Plus, my form wasn't the best, and I kept getting water up on my nose.  The bad news: the triathlon distance for the swim was the equivalent of 32 laps in the pool.  I thought I was in big trouble!  Finally, the day before the race, I did 32 laps.  I had to mix a lot of backstroke in there in order to finish but finishing was what I needed to do. 

You might be wondering: What about my biking and running training?  Pretty much nonexistent.  I tried to run here and there as often as possible, but swimming was the main focus.  And, I was far, far away from my home, so I didn't have a bike.  Therefore, my entire training pretty much consisted of swimming.  Going into it, I was obviously terrified because I did not have the ample opportunity to train that somebody should have when a triathlon is something they are not accustomed to.

We actually ended up renting road bikes from a local shop in Austin because at that time, neither of us had road bikes, and we knew we needed one.  We picked up the bikes the day before, so that was the only time I had to practice my biking.  And, I had never ridden a road bike before, so it was something I wish I had had more time to get used to, but the triathlon was only one day away!

This was a photo taken right before our wave in the triathlon--I think our wave was around 8:45, and first wave began at 8:00, so I also had to see some people being rescued from the swimming aspect, which was not pleasant since I was NOT 100% confident in my swimming.  I am extremely competitive though, so I was just hoping that this side of me would come out and help me to finish the race.

I ended up swimming backstroke for most of the time.  Whenever I felt like I caught my breath, I would freestyle for as long as I could, but the most important part was that I FINISHED THE SWIMMING!  I was so happy when i got out of the water because I knew that I could finish it all.  My goal going into the triathlon was just to finish it--which was tough to convince myself since I'm so competitive--but I knew that the events and distances--swimming and running in particular--just weren't my strong points. 

Because I wasn't in a huge hurry, my transition times were horrendous, but after getting on the bike, I passed 20-30 people who had beat me in the swim, so I was very happy with that portion of the race, especially because it was extremely hilly, and I saw a lot of people walking their bikes up hills.  I was not careful enough when it came time to transition from biking to running because I ended up forgetting to put on my number.  This small mistake occured to me after I was about 800m into the running portion.  I ended up having to turn back to get the number and get on my way again.  After all this, I was so tired, and I unfrotunately ended up walking a good majority of the race.  This doesn't make me happy looking back on it, but the fact that I finished outweighs everything.

Just finishing the race was one of the most gratifying moments of my life thus far, especially doing it after two knee surgeries(I have had three now--woohoo).  I was on three varsity sports my freshman year of high school: volleyball, basketball, track, and field.  My basketball team qualified in Division 1 for state my freshman year.  My volleyball team made it to the Regional Finals my sophomore year.  I qualified for state in track once in the 4x2, twice in the 4x1(we were the Division 1 state runner-up my junior year), qualified for state in the long jump my senior year, broke the high school long jump record by over a foot, jumping 18' 4", was voted the Best Athlete in my county my senior year, voted All-Ohio in volleyball my senior year, yet finishing this triathlon gave me the most incredible feeling ever.  I would have to credit that to it being something that was out of my comfort zone.  I am not in any way a good distance runner and definitely not a good swimmer so completing this triathlon allowed me to see what it's like to do something that I was not comfortable with.  And doing this triathlon has given me lifelong memories and helped me realize that I (and YOU!) can do whatever you set our mind to. I fully intend to complete in more triathlons but for now, back to some sprinting!

I want to inspire you, right now, do something that is out of your comfort zone. Start small--swim 1 lap in your local pool, sprint a 100m dash, jog a mile, jump rope, weight lift, something!!  Just this one small thing will inspire you to do something greater and this will give you all the satisfaction in the world.

If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not.

-B.G. Jett

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• Triathlon
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